-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- `` Sometimes when I go I feel ashamed and go back without defecating . Sometimes I wait until dark to go there so no one can see me . I will be very concerned about Diani , my daughter , going to the bush because it is so far from here . At night it is very dangerous . People get killed . A woman and a boy were killed with knives . One woman I know of has been raped . ''

These are the words of Sandimhia Renato , a young mother from Mozambique . She has to walk 15 minutes every day to find somewhere to go to the toilet .

Sandimhia and 1.25 billion other women around the world , find themselves in similar situations every day , where they have no choice but to put themselves at risk of disease , harassment or even violence because they lack access to something as simple as a safe and clean toilet .

Today , 19 November , is the first U.N. recognized World Toilet Day . It 's easy to dismiss such days , but recognition of the need to address this issue is vital .

Read this : Happy World Toilet Day

Access to a safe toilet is one of the most effective ways of reducing death and disease and improving life for millions .

Every hour 70 women and girls will needlessly die from diseases directly linked to a lack of an adequate toilet and safe drinking water . In total one and a quarter million men , women and children will die this year from preventable diseases brought about by a lack of access to these basic services .

To die for want of a toilet is an outrage that we should not be tolerating .

That is why WaterAid , Unilever and the UN partnership organisation , the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council have produced a new report , We Ca n't Wait , demonstrating the scale and consequences of this problem .

Writing in the foreword to the report , UN Deputy Secretary-General , Jan Eliasson , and Unilever chief executive officer , Paul Polman , state :

`` One person in three lacks access to adequate sanitation . The result is widespread death and disease -- especially among children -- and social marginalization . Women are particularly vulnerable . Poor sanitation exposes females to the risk of assault , and when schools can not provide clean , safe toilets girls ' attendance drops . ''

Such words from leaders in diplomacy and in business are hugely welcome . WaterAid has been providing access to sanitation alongside clean drinking water and hygiene promotion since the early 1980s . We have also been banging on the door of governments in both the western and developing world for well over two decades , highlighting the practical steps that could be taken to end this tragedy .

Progress has been made . Almost two billion people have gained access to sanitation since 1990 . Many governments have made progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals that were set in 2000 and are due to achieve many of them by the end of 2015 .

One of those targets is a commitment to halve the proportion of people lacking access to what is called `` improved sanitation . '' At the current rate of progress , this promise is way off track . In fact , if we carry on as we are , it will take another 12 years to get the job done .

Even when this goal is finally reached , one in four people will still not have access to safe sanitation . Universal access is still over 50 years away . Such a delay is not acceptable .

What is needed is political will and financing . The business case for doing so is extremely strong . The World Health Organization estimates that every $ 1 invested in sanitation services returns $ 5.50 . If we halve the proportion of people without access to sanitation , the economic return would be over $ 54 billion per year . Getting everyone , everywhere access to a toilet would generate over $ 220 billion a year .

World Toilet Day is an opportunity to celebrate the progress that has been made and recognizes how much more needs to be done .

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of Barbara Frost .

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November 19 is the first U.N. recognized World Toilet Day

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WaterAid chief says over 1 billion people are at risk because they lack access to clean toilets

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`` To die for want of a toilet is an outrage that we should not be tolerating , '' says Barbara Frost

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She says `` political will and financing '' is needed to address the problem